Members of Congress Appeal to President Clinton
to Commute Jonathan Pollard's Sentence

Justice4JP Release - November 28, 2000

The following appeal for the commutation of Jonathan Pollard's sentence was recently sent to President Clinton by Members of Congress Anthony Weiner, Jerrold Nadler and Janice Schakowsky.

President William J. Clinton
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We write with reference to your ongoing review of the matter of Jonathan Jay Pollard and to bring new information on his case to your attention.

On September 20, 2000, new attorneys for Mr. Pollard filed a motion for resentencing in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The motion presents a compelling and very disturbing picture of serious government misconduct that appears to have gone unchecked by Mr. Pollard's then-counsel. Mr. Pollard claims that as result of that misconduct, and as a result of his attorney's ineffectiveness, he was sentenced to life in prison on the basis of false allegations, and under circumstances that violated his plea agreement.

Perhaps most troubling, after Mr. Pollard had been sentenced to life in prison, his attorney failed to file a Notice of Appeal - a simple and straightforward task that any attorney would have routinely done. By that failure, Mr. Pollard's then-counsel appears to have deprived his client of direct appellate review of the sentence, and doomed Mr. Pollard to an unreviewed sentence of life in prison.

The papers that have now been filed by new counsel seek to have Mr. Pollard resentenced on the basis of a truthful record, untainted by government misconduct, and in a manner consistent with the government's commitments under the plea agreement. The papers seek a court hearing so that the truth can finally be uncovered.

We respectfully urge you to consider this recent court submission as part of your pending executive review of this matter. In light of this apparent government misconduct, coupled with ineffective representation that allowed that misconduct to go unchecked, we believe that fundamental fairness warrants an immediate commutation of Mr. Pollard's sentence.

Sincerely,

(signed)

Anthony D. Weiner - Member of Congress
Jerrold Nadler - Member of Congress
Janice D. Schakowsky - Member of Congress